


A Winter Tradition

by OnceUponAGalaxyFarFarAway



Series: Stormpilot Advent Calendar Part II [5]
Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Fluff, Ice Skating, Learning how to ice skate, M/M, family traditions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-05
Updated: 2017-12-05
Packaged: 2019-02-11 06:07:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,515
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12929133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OnceUponAGalaxyFarFarAway/pseuds/OnceUponAGalaxyFarFarAway
Summary: After the war, Poe teaches Finn how to ice skate





	A Winter Tradition

**Author's Note:**

  * For [linatrinch](https://archiveofourown.org/users/linatrinch/gifts), [QianLan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/QianLan/gifts).



> Written for LinaTrinch, who suggested "learning how to ice skate" and QianLan who suggested "Person A tries to teach Person B how to ice skate and they end up falling all over each other"

“Are you sure about this, Poe?” Finn asked, eyeing the frozen lake with wary eyes. “I don't think it's safe.”

“Oh, don't worry, buddy. It's totally safe.” Poe assured him, smiling.

“You're an ace pilot who does freaky tricks midair. Our ideas of 'safe' are very different.” BB-8 beeped in agreement and Poe rolled his eyes. 

“Whatever, you two. Finn, I promise it's safe, I've been doing this for ages. Even before I was a pilot. Besides, I'll hold on to you.”

Finn looked suspiciously at the ice again before nodding a little bit. “Alright, I'll give it a try.” 

Poe smiled reassuringly, grabbing the skates and sitting down to lace them up. Finn still looked a little unsure. “Buddy, if you really don’t want to, I won’t make you, alright? I don’t want to force you into doing something.”

Finn shook his head, finishing up the lacing and looking over at Poe. “No, it’s okay, I can give it a try. I know this is a big tradition of yours, I’m glad you’re sharing it with me. I’ll give it a try. I can’t say I’ll be any good, but I will give it a try, I swear.”

Poe smiled, standing carefully, legs wobbling a little with the thin skates under his feet. Once he was steady, he offered a hand to Finn, a good idea, it seemed, since the other almost feel over as he stood, gripping Poe tightly. “Are you alright, buddy? You got this?” he asked, squeezing his shoulder.

Finn nodded, still holding onto him. “Yeah. I got this. We got this. Let’s move to the ice though, I don’t like standing so still like this.”

Poe nodded his agreement, walking with Finn onto the frozen lake, still holding him. Finn’s legs started slipping and sliding underneath him and he gasped, grabbing Poe’s shoulders as his legs slipped out from under him. The other was quick to wrap his arms around him, pulling him close to his chest, giving the other time to steady his legs. When he did let go, the other was standing straight, a little too stiff, admittedly, but he could work with this. “Alright, there we go, buddy. You’re good. Link arms with me, so we’ve got each other’s backs.”

Finn nodded, still unsure, linking arms with him. “And you’re sure I won’t fall over?” 

Poe nodded. “I’m sure. You seem steady, and I’m not going to do anything fancy. You’ll be just fine. We can start moving, if you’re comfortable enough.”

Finn paused before nodding hesitantly. “Okay. Yeah. Yeah, no problem. We can do this.” 

Poe grinned at him. “We can do this, buddy.” he said with a grin before starting to move across the ice.

Finn bit his lip as he watched him move, trying to mimic his movements, holding tightly to Poe as he did. He could do this, for kriff’s sake. He had faced off against Kylo Ren, against Phasma, against Snoke himself, he could skate across this kriffing lake. Especially for Poe. 

The two had grown close over their time in the war, and Finn had wanted to learn everything about him. Poe, of course, had been more than happy to help, and he would talk for ages about his home, about the ranch, his dad, his neighbors, and his traditions. One that had caught Finn’s attention was that he and his family would go to one of the other moons in the Yavin system during its cold season and skate on one of the frozen lakes. Poe had dozens of memories of those trips, how they’d book an inn in the closest city, and spend a few nights, how sometimes even friends and extended family members would tag along, and how they would all walk to one lake in particular, to skate and have fun.

The way he talked about it, his eyes all bright as he thought about those fond memories, Finn couldn’t help but want that. He wanted memories like that with Poe, with their friends, which is why, after the war, when the cold season started to roll around, Finn suggested that they go for a few days. Everyone had agreed, much to his delight, and had agreed to meetup. Poe had suggested they go a little early, with the idea of helping him learn to skate beforehand, but it was mostly to take advantage of the “romantic snowy landscape”. Frankly, Finn didn’t see what was so romantic about freezing his ass off, but there was something to be said about the aesthetic of curling up to a nice fire with his boyfriend. 

And if anything, the cold was still better than Jakku. 

Finn tried not to let himself get distracted as he skated - well, shuffled - along the lake, and found that he was starting to enjoy himself a little bit. Sure, he couldn’t do any of the fancy tricks he was sure Poe could, and if he tried one of those loops or flips, he would probably fall and mess his back up for sure, but he was satisfied with being able to skate next to Poe like this. This was fine, not super easy like it was for Poe, but definitely not as hard as he had expected.

Of course, just as he thought that, his skate met a particularly slick patch of ice, and his foot was flung out from under him, sending him toppling into Poe, who let out a surprised shout as the two got tangled up together before they both went down, Poe landing on his back on the ice, Finn landing atop the other’s chest, winding them both.

Finn did his best to prop himself up a little with his hands, wide eyes with horror. “Oh kriff! Poe, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to do that! Are you okay?”

Poe nodded quickly, looking just as concerned. “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine, are you? You didn’t hurt your back or anything?”

Finn shook his head. “No, I didn’t, I’m fine. Are you sure you’re okay? You fell pretty hard.” he said, climbing off of the other.

“I’m fine, Finn, ” Poe promised, sitting up and popping his back. “I think we call it for the day, though, and go back to our room and rest.” 

Finn was quick to agree. “That’s definitely a good idea.” 

The trek back to their belongings was a little more cautious, and when they arrived, BB-8 warbled in concern, though Poe was quick to reassure the droid. 

Finn couldn’t help his guilt as they walked back, and let Poe fill the silence with stories of all the times he’s fallen in the past. Eventually, though, once they had reached the room and taken a warm shower, Poe knew he wasn’t going to lift the other up just through stories. As they lay in bed, waiting for their food, he reached out, squeezing his hand. “Hey. What’s going on?”

Finn shrugged a little. “I don’t know, I just feel bad. That wasn’t a very fun start to this trip.”

“Don’t feel bad, buddy. At worst, we’ll have a couple of ugly bruises in the morning. Nothing to worry about. And besides, it wasn’t your fault. Everyone falls their first go, you did better than most, and those patches of ice are pains in the ass, even the best will fall on those. If we had on opposite sides, I would have brought us both down.” Poe nudged his shoulder with his head. “And you know how I am, all limbs and stuff, I would’ve probably punched myself in the face, elbowed you on accident, and it would really be a mess.” 

Finn snorted at that, kissing his head. “You are a tangle of limbs. You cuddle like a rathtar, and believe me, I would know.”

“I’m better looking than a rathtar, though, right?” He asked with a teasing grin.

“Hmm…” Finn said, feigning thought. “Well, could you pull up a picture, so I have some comparison?” 

“Rude!” Poe exclaimed, shoving his arm lightly. “You’re so mean, Finn!”

The other laughed, kissing the corner of his lips. “Yes, Poe, you’re much better looking than a rathtar. It’s no contest.”

Poe beamed, curling up to him with a hum. “Well, there’s a relief.” After a moment he added, “We’ll have tons of fun, Finn, no matter how many times we fall over. And, to be fair, our first meeting did end with quite the fall.”

That got a laugh out of Finn and he nodded, wrapping an arm around Poe. “You make a good point. Tomorrow, we’ll kick ass, though. Set up a routine and everything.”

“You bet it,” Poe nodded, getting to his feet when the door knocked, signaling the arrival of their food. “We’ll be the best skaters on the moon.”

Finn watched him head to the door with a fond smile before standing to help him. Of course, they wouldn’t be the best skaters on the moon, but Finn didn’t care. Like he had said before, he was more than happy just skating beside Poe, arm in arm.


End file.
